Group Covets Old Building For New Home

April 11, 1998|By STEPHANIE BRENOWITZ; Courant Staff Writer

MARLBOROUGH — The group that got its start trying to save the historic town hall is looking for a permanent home, and it has its eye on another aged building -- the old package store/dance hall/post office on North Main Street.

At a wine-and-cheese reception Friday, charter members of the Marlborough Arts Center & Museum began discussing how to attract grants and corporate donations to buy the building.

``We're recovering from the loss of the old town hall and realizing that we've generated a lot of interest,'' said Ethel Fowler, president of the group. ``When people come to Marlborough, there should be someplace for them to learn about our history and for us to display our art.''

Fowler knows a lot about the history of the town -- she's lived here all her life, she can remember when local children were all educated in a one-room schoolhouse on South Main Street and she worked at town hall for 25 years.

She retired one month before the old Methodist Church/town hall was torn down by the town after residents voted last December to do so.

After that defeat, Fowler, Bill Tchakirides and about 50 other artistically minded folks decided to press ahead with the group they had formed.

When the town declined their request to create an arts commission, the members set up shop in a vacant storefront in the Village Green Plaza that was donated to them temporarily. The center offers art classes, sells art supplies and holds exhibitions such as the current ``Showcase of Arts and Flowers,'' which gets a steady stream of visitors.

There is also a space in the back where the historical society has set up a display about the history of Marlborough. That display would be expanded should the arts group move to the North Main Street location.

The 1,200-square-foot building is located on 1 acre across from Marlborough Plastics, and is listed at $70,000. Most recently a package store, the building was once a dance hall and a post office decades ago when Marlborough was a mill town.

The building will need a lot of renovation to be used as an arts center and museum, but it would be worth it, Fowler said. The group already has about $35,000 from a private donation and will be looking to companies, art commissions and individuals for further contributions.

Fowler's group is the second arts organization in town -- Marlborough Community Arts puts on a festival every fall funded by the town.

``It's a good use for the building and there seems to be enough interest in town for two groups,'' First Selectman Howard Dean said of the new group's plan. ``I hope it shakes out to be a plus for the town.''